The purpose of this project is collaborative development and application of advanced image processing and information processing algorithms for use in basic and clinical research. Examples of application areas include: MRI, CT, Ultrasound, PET, SPECT, confocal and electron microscopy, gel electrophoresis, and information content of macromolecular sequences. Drs. C-N Chen and H. Eden have collaborated with Drs. M. Lewis and K. Wang, NIAMS to develop techniques to visualize and study structural details of muscle proteins using data obtained by confocal microscopy of fluorescence-tagged tissues. Software evaluated for this purpose has included IDL, 3DVIEWNIX, ImageMagick and OpenDX. Dr. C-N Chen also collaborated with Dr. M. Krishna, NCI to explore the feasibility of developing phase correction algorithms for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging. Dr. J. Ellis has collaborated with Dr. T. Schneider et al, NCI to perform DNA splice site analyses. The first phase of analysis of the human neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) gene has been completed. Excellent agreement has been obtained between predicted splicing and experimental cDNA analysis, as has confirmation of speculation about a subtle alternative splicing variation in the TGM1 gene. Initial results have been obtained for the alpha-L-iduronidase gene, and short analyses have been done on DNA pieces from GKD genes, among others.
